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          LAFAYETTE AND HILLSBORO. LAFAYETTE, was laid out by Jacob Schmettzer, Elizabeth Wheelock, William Edwards, James M. Edwards and Augustus Dubril, May 4, 1856, on the southeast corner of the southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 19, township 75, range 4 west. The town lies immediately south of and adjoining the town of Hillsboro, platted by William Todd, and appears to have been platted one year earlier than Hillsboro, though Mr. Todd’s recollections place Hillsboro first. According to Mr. Todd he made the first settlement on the land on which he afterward located the town of Hillsboro, the next year after the land sale in Burlington, entering three forties, where he now lives, the east half of the northwest quarter of section 19, township 79, range 4 west, and a fractional forty east of it. At that time there was no one residing in the present limits of Columbus Junction. He platted a village to which he gave the name of . . .

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. . .Hillsboro, on the south bank of the Iowa River, on the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 19. The survey was made by John Gilliland, May 26, 1857. It was intended to make this a landing point for boats on the Iowa River. In high water steamers used to run up to this point and above. There were two keel boats built here in an early day, one by a Mr. Luckitt, and one by Mr. Wheelock, of Fredonia. Mr. Todd was the first regular licensed ferryman, and built and ran six different ferryboats at this town. He continued in the business until the building of the present wagon road bridge. As the country was settling up quite rapidly he had at times a lively business, and had several narrow escapes from disaster by ice floes. Several business places were started on the plat, Dr. Dill being the first practicing physician. Mr. Wheelock kept store here for awhile. The place only flourished for a few years and then began to decline. The buildings were gradually removed to various places, until nothing scarcely remained of the old town.